Today I booked a Hawaiian island cruise. This cruise is special because it only visits Hawaii and no foreign port. Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America is a US registered ship. Most other cruise ships are registered in foreign countries and are required to visit a foreign port due to the ‘Passenger Services Act’ which…
This morning I took the direct United flight UA 253 from Houston to Hawai’i…. After checking in and going through security at terminal C, I got a text message saying the gate had changed to E5…. not a slight change. This required a significant amount of walking and a train to change between terminals. Eventually…
This morning my first task of the day was to wake up and reserve tickets for the Pearl Harbor tour. I already made reservations, but it was at 2 pm, ending at 3:15 pm which would make it difficult to reach the ship on time. Luckily I was able to get 2 tickets for 11…
This morning I woke up early and went snorkeling in the lagoon at the resort. There were a few fish near the rocks that were cut for the lagoons. After packing and checking out I went to Pearl Harbor. Luckily yesterday I got tickets for the 11am tour. I arrived at 10:15 and was able…
Don’t try this at home… Well at least not the entire loop of Haleakala like I did today. Today I arrived in Maui. I took a taxi to the airport ($15) to pick up the rental car. I reserved an open air Jeep for the two days in Maui. After removing the top I started…
I thought about waking up at 1:30am for the Haleakala sunrise, but I was pretty tired from yesterday’s circumnavigation of Haleakala. I got a reasonable start to the morning. I attempted to order an Uber, but port security wouldn’t let them in. I took a taxi to the Maui Beach Hotel where I parked the…
This morning I arrived in Hilo. I took a few photos from the ship before taking a taxi to the airport to get the rental car. Another Jeep with removable roof. I drove about 45 minutes to Hawaii Volcano National Park. I’m getting use of my new National Park pass. I stopped at the visitor…
This morning was a good change in weather compared to yesterday afternoon. The weather in Kona was sunny and the water was very clear. I started the day lazily because I only planned to go snorkeling. The ship had to tender, and they used the lifeboats. I walked from the tender pier to the Mokuaikaua…
This morning the ship arrived in Kauai at about 8:00 am. The view was spectacular as the ship was arriving so I quickly grabbed my GoPro camera and set it for a time lapse video and took some pictures as well. They started allowing us off at 8:30 am. I took the rental car shuttle…
This morning I got an early start. I left the ship at 7am and started to explore the north part of the island. The first stop was for a lighthouse. While driving back from the lighthouse to the main road I stopped for a few photos. while on the main road towards Hanalei pier there…
Today was a sad day as I said goodbye to my new friend the Pride of America. Unlike other ships this is likely the last time I will be on it. After a causal breakfast (and a lot of packing) I took an Uber to the hotel. I booked an ocean view balcony room at…
This morning I slept in a little, then did some laundry since the room had a washer and dryer. After I put the clothes in the dryer I walked to the beach. I picked up a snack at Subway before heading back to the hotel to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine because I…